The Sulaiman Mountains, also known as Kōh-e Sulaymān (
Balochi/
/ fa, ; "Mountains of
Solomon
Solomon (; , ),, ; ar, سُلَيْمَان, ', , ; el, Σολομών, ; la, Salomon also called Jedidiah (Hebrew language, Hebrew: , Modern Hebrew, Modern: , Tiberian Hebrew, Tiberian: ''Yăḏīḏăyāh'', "beloved of Yahweh, Yah"), ...
") or Da Kasē Ghrūna ( ps, د كسې غرونه; "Mountains of Kasi"), are a north–south extension of the southern
Hindu Kush
The Hindu Kush is an mountain range in Central and South Asia to the west of the Himalayas. It stretches from central and western Afghanistan, Quote: "The Hindu Kush mountains run along the Afghan border with the North-West Frontier Province ...
mountain system in
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
and
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is borde ...
. They rise to form the eastern edge of the
Iranian plateau. They are located in the
Kandahar
Kandahar (; Kandahār, , Qandahār) is a city in Afghanistan, located in the south of the country on the Arghandab River, at an elevation of . It is Afghanistan's second largest city after Kabul, with a population of about 614,118. It is the c ...
,
Zabul,
Paktika
Paktika (Pashto/Dari: ) is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in the eastern part of the country. Forming part of the larger Loya Paktia region, Paktika has a population of about 789,000, mostly ethnic Pashtuns. The town of Sharana ...
and
Paktia
Paktia ( Pashto/ Dari: – ''Paktyā'') is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in the east of the country. Forming part of the larger Loya Paktia region, Paktia Province is divided into 15 districts and has a population of roughl ...
provinces of Afghanistan, and in Pakistan they extend over the northern part of
Balochistan
Balochistan ( ; bal, بلۏچستان; also romanised as Baluchistan and Baluchestan) is a historical region in Western and South Asia, located in the Iranian plateau's far southeast and bordering the Indian Plate and the Arabian Sea coastline. ...
and some southern parts of
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ps, خېبر پښتونخوا; Urdu, Hindko: خیبر پختونخوا) commonly abbreviated as KP or KPK, is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the northwestern region of the country, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa ...
. In southwestern
Punjab
Punjab (; Punjabi Language, Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also Romanization, romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the I ...
, the mountains extend into the two districts of
Dera Ghazi Khan and
Rajanpur, which are located west of the
Indus River
The Indus ( ) is a transboundary river of Asia and a trans-Himalayan river of South and Central Asia. The river rises in mountain springs northeast of Mount Kailash in Western Tibet, flows northwest through the disputed region of Kashmi ...
on the boundary with Balochistan. Bordering the mountains to the east are the plains of the Indus River valley, and to the north are the arid highlands of the Central Hindu Kush whose heights extend up to . Together with the
Kirthar Mountains on the border between Balochistan and
Sindh
Sindh (; ; ur, , ; historically romanized as Sind) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the southeastern region of the country, Sindh is the third-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the second-largest province ...
, the Sulaiman Mountains form what is known as the Sulaiman-Kirthar geologic province.
The most well-known peak of the Sulaimans is the twin-peaked
Takht-e-Sulaiman or "Throne of Solomon" at , located near
Darazinda in
Dera Ismail Khan Subdivision, close to the border with both
South Waziristan and the
Zhob District of neighboring Balochistan province. The highest peak, however, is
Zarghun Ghar
Zarghun Ghar ( ps, زرغون غر, lit. "Green Mountain"), or Zarghoon Mountains, is a mountain range located in the east of the Quetta District, in Balochistan Province, western Pakistan. It contains the tallest mountain in the Balochista ...
at near
Quetta
Quetta (; ur, ; ; ps, کوټه) is the tenth most populous city in Pakistan with a population of over 1.1 million. It is situated in south-west of the country close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is the capital of th ...
, Pakistan. The next highest peak in Balochistan province is Khilafat Hill at , which is located in the
Ziarat District of Pakistan and is famous for the
Ziarat Juniper Forest
The Ziarat Juniper Forest is a juniper forest in Ziarat, Balochistan, Pakistan.
Geography
These forests are spread around mountainous area of Ziarat and Mount Zarghoon. The mountains range from 1,181 to 3,488 meters elevation. The forests cover ...
, where ''
Juniperus macropoda
Junipers are coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Juniperus'' () of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on the taxonomy, between 50 and 67 species of junipers are widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere, from the Arct ...
'' trees grow.
Geography
The eastern edge of the Sulaiman range runs from the
Gomal Pass in Pakistan's
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ps, خېبر پښتونخوا; Urdu, Hindko: خیبر پختونخوا) commonly abbreviated as KP or KPK, is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the northwestern region of the country, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa ...
province to near the city of
Jacobabad
Jacobabad ( ur, and sd, جيڪب آباد; formerly Khanger or Khangarh) is a city in Sindh, Pakistan, serving as both the capital city of Jacobabad District and the administrative center of Jacobabad Taluka, an administrative subdivisi ...
in
Sindh
Sindh (; ; ur, , ; historically romanized as Sind) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the southeastern region of the country, Sindh is the third-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the second-largest province ...
province, and further stretches into south-west
Punjab
Punjab (; Punjabi Language, Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also Romanization, romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the I ...
.
In Afghanistan, the western edge of the range starts just beyond the northern
Loya Paktia province where they meet the
Koh-i-Baba range. South from there, they meet the
Spin Ghar range northeast of
Gardez
, settlement_type =City
, image_skyline =gardez_paktya.jpg
, imagesize =
, image_caption =The Bala Hesar fortress in the center of Gardez City
, image_flag =
, flag_size =
, image_sea ...
in
Paktia province, but towards west, the mountain range drops gradually in
Kandahar
Kandahar (; Kandahār, , Qandahār) is a city in Afghanistan, located in the south of the country on the Arghandab River, at an elevation of . It is Afghanistan's second largest city after Kabul, with a population of about 614,118. It is the c ...
southwest into
Helmand and the
Sistan Basin.
The Sulaiman Range, and the high plateaus to the west of it, helps form a natural barrier against the humid winds that blow from the
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by ...
, creating arid conditions across southern and central Afghanistan to the west and north. In contrast, the relatively flat and low-lying
Indus
The Indus ( ) is a transboundary river of Asia and a trans-Himalayan river of South and Central Asia. The river rises in mountain springs northeast of Mount Kailash in Western Tibet, flows northwest through the disputed region of Kashmir, ...
delta is situated due east and south of the Sulaimans.
Rivers that drain the Sulaimans include the
Gomal River which flows eastward into the
Indus River
The Indus ( ) is a transboundary river of Asia and a trans-Himalayan river of South and Central Asia. The river rises in mountain springs northeast of Mount Kailash in Western Tibet, flows northwest through the disputed region of Kashmi ...
, and the
Dori River and other small tributaries of the
Arghandab River
Arghandab is a river in Afghanistan, about in length. It rises in Ghazni Province, west of the city of Ghazni, and flows southwest passing near the city of Kandahar, and then joins the Helmand River below Grishk. In its lower course, it is mu ...
, which flow southwestward into the
Helmand River.
Geology
The Sulaimans were formed as a
fold and thrust belt as the
Indian Plate
The Indian Plate (or India Plate) is a minor tectonic plate straddling the equator in the Eastern Hemisphere. Originally a part of the ancient continent of Gondwana, the Indian Plate broke away from the other fragments of Gondwana , began ...
collided into
Eurasian Plate
The Eurasian Plate is a tectonic plate that includes most of the continent of Eurasia (a landmass consisting of the traditional continents of Europe and Asia), with the notable exceptions of the Indian subcontinent, the Arabian subcontinent an ...
beginning about 30 million year ago.
The Indian Plate's counter-clockwise rotation as it collided with the Eurasian Plate resulted in the Sulaiman's having some of the most complex tectonic structures in the world,
including "stacking" of thrust faults. The complex fault-system is capable of producing
doublet earthquakes
Doublet is a word derived from the Latin ''duplus'', "twofold, twice as much",